Tough as steel
1,500 barriers to protect vs. terror
THE CITY will be installing 1,500 permanent protective barriers across the five boroughs to stop potential terror attacks at popular public spaces, Mayor de Blasio said Tuesday.
Standing in Times Square near where a deranged motorist sped down a crowded sidewalk in May, killing one woman and injuring 22 pedestrians, the mayor said the steel cylindrical barriers, or bollards, will be a “$50 million investment in protective measures for key locations around the city.”
“More clearly than ever we know we are the safest big city in America,” de Blasio said, referring to the sharp dip in murders and shootings the city marked last year.
“We know, though, we have to keep working to keep this city even safer.”
In the May attack, the driver was finally stopped by crashing into a bollard after spreading bloody mayhem over three blocks.
On Halloween, terrorist Sayfullo Saipov drove a rented truck down a West Side bike lane, killing eight as he plowed into innocent civilians and bicyclists.
Saipov is now facing the death penalty on federal murder charges.
That rampage sparked a citywide review on how best to keep pedestrians safe, de Blasio said.
“We know we have to do even more to keep people safe, and that’s why we conducted a review on how best to secure our streets and public spaces, and we formulated a plan of action,” he said.
In the wake of the terror attack, the family of one of Saipov’s victims, New Jersey resident Darren Drake, took steps to sue the city for inadequate barriers and signage to prevent a car from barreling down the popular bike path.
Currently, there are only 50 spots throughout the five boroughs where permanent public bollards have been installed, city officials said. Over the last few months, the city installed temporary bollards as they followed terrorist attacks across the world, the mayor said.
“That was necessary to immediately secure those areas in light on these new trends we’ve seen,” de Blasio said. “But we knew we needed long-term solutions, we needed permanent barriers.”
The city has taken steps to make sure that the bollards “integrate into the life of the city,” the mayor said.
“They had to still allow people to get around because these are some of the busiest streets in the world,” he said.
Scores of property holders have already taken it upon themselves to get bollards of different sizes and shapes placed in front of their buildings.
The city’s new bollards “will make sure that the vehicles can never come into the places where pedestrians are,” de Blasio said.
“When someone with a vehicle plows into a group of innocent pedestrians, it’s disgusting,” de Blasio said. “But we know there are some out there who mean to do us evil and we will protect against it.”
NYPD Police Commissioner James O’Neill said the bollards will better protect people at landmark locations. “We need to keep as many of our spaces as welcoming as possible while also making sure they’re as safe as possible, too,” O’Neill said.
City Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg also hailed the measure: “We obviously want to make sure these spaces are inviting, that pedestrians can flow, that people feel safe but also enjoy the public spaces,”